


Is Something Burning?

by Kira_Dattei



Series: The Old Guard Whumptober 2020 [14]
Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Branding, Established Relationship, Immortal Husbands Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, M/M, Pre-Canon, Protective Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:54:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27552658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kira_Dattei/pseuds/Kira_Dattei
Summary: There are just some times where Yusuf is more grateful than others that he heals from all injuries quickly and without scars left behind.Prompt: Branding
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Series: The Old Guard Whumptober 2020 [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1994617
Comments: 3
Kudos: 124





	Is Something Burning?

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not a whump writer so I can't promise a huge amount of whump in all of these. I just picked the prompt from each day that actually sparked an idea and ran with it.  
> I'm mostly using these as a way to get a feel for the characters and I simply love the relationships given in canon and wanted to explore them.  
> Joe is the lucky whumpee for most of these because I just love him.
> 
> These are all going to be one-shots and they are as connected as you want them to be so you’re good to just read one and not worry about missing anything.

Yusuf wasn’t decided if he was to be looking for assistance in gaining his freedom or if he was to act on his own.

He and his travelling companion, Nicolo, had been attacked while setting up their camp and Yusuf believed he saw Nicolo struck down while Yusuf had been dragged away and chains clamped around his wrists, ankles, and neck. He’d been led to a clutch of wagons not far away and had been thrown into one with a few other chained people, both men and women all with darker shades of skin like his, and they’d been travelling at an easy pace through half the night before they’d stopped for their captors to sleep.

While it had been many years since he and Nicolo attempted to kill one another, he was certain the only reason they remained together was their shared fate of being incapable of attaining death. They only broke words when absolutely necessary, Yusuf forced to adapt to the Genovese language as Nicolo had so far refused to learn Arabic. And they only spoke of where they would go next, what work they would take, where they would camp. Nothing private was spoken about.

It was a grim acceptance of their fates, a choice only in the strictest meaning of the word as they could part company but it was easier not to.

Was it of any wonder that Yusuf held no immediate expectation that his generally stoic companion would not consider offering him aid worth the difficulty of tracking Yusuf and then freeing him.

And Nicolo wasn’t an exceptionally skilled tracker. He was improving as they took on more work that required he learn, but it was often Yusuf’s task to determine path. But there had been around ten men left alive to drag Yusuf away, only near half of what they’d attacked with as no one attacked Yusuf and Nicolo without coming to regret it. That many men made for clearer tracks, as did wagons. And while the wagons were covered so Yusuf couldn’t see much outside, he was certain the movement of the wagon indicated rough terrain not often travelled. If Nicolo was attempting to follow, at least Yusuf had all those factors in his favor to his companion succeeding in finding him.

They continued on the next day without stopping. And if Yusuf’s knowledge of the area was accurate and based on how the shadows of the sun had hit the wagon, they should be reaching a small trading town by day’s end.

Which, of course, didn’t bode well for him. Slaves were often sold out of that town. He was well-built, good for manual labor. It mattered not when first taking him that he would make a poor slave as he would not yield to another’s command and no amount of training or torture would force him to kneel. It had always been his way.

But until he was taken from the wagon, he would not gain the opportunity to free himself. Perhaps he could infuriate them enough to declare him not worthy of the effort and they would kill him. Then he would heal and be freed. It wouldn’t be the first time he had deemed death to be the source of opportunity he needed to better a situation. He preferred not to rely on it but it was an option he did not dismiss.

The first time he had done so had earned him the most amusing tirade from Nicolo. For when something bothered the man enough for his stoicism to falter, he became so wonderfully expressive. Yusuf’s challenge had become finding what gained that response, his wish being that perhaps one such moment would lead to something that indicated they could truly come to terms with one another.

He had never spent so long with someone he knew so little about. Having been a merchant, learning about others was part of the work. He had learned how to be just friendly enough to make a sale, his warm nature lending well to the task and it was a part of the life that he had truly enjoyed. He liked learning of others, coming to understand what their life had brought which he hadn’t experienced himself. Lives were unique and he was drawn to such.

Partaking in the gruesome war against the invaders that brought Nicolo to his land had dampened that for some time, Yusuf finding difficulty in even having desire to be himself and so holding no care for others. It was only in the past year or so where Yusuf had regaining some of that desire to learn what held no practical meaning for him except to discover.

The sounds of others outside the wagon besides his captors were increasing and he determined it was near nightfall. They didn’t get too near, though, keeping to the outside of the greatest concentration of commotion. They eventually came to a stop and Yusuf heard those who held him conversing in a language he had yet to learn.

If he had not been parted from Nicolo permanently by this, he would need to discuss that they consider settling in places for longer than a month or so at a time. Surely they could at least remain still for long enough for Yusuf to learn how to speak some of these languages unfamiliar to him. They could always move in the event that their secret were discovered but they did not need to forever lack the comforts of a place to call home, even if it were only for a handful of years at a time. That seemed much more tolerable than this manner of existing they currently accepted.

The lock on the wagon Yusuf was within was released and the door pulled open, instructions yelled at him, still in a language he did not know but he could assume the meaning.

Assuming meaning did not require he listen and he remained in place even as some of the others moved to obey. He received a dark look for his defiance but was allowed to remain, the door closing behind the ones who had stepped out. And they did not allow the other prisoners to move so that they would not be at risk if Yusuf attacked now and he did not wish to have them harmed for the sake of his freedom.

These men were at least competent, allowing themselves to handle the difficult ones separately than the easy ones.

And Yusuf was intending to be most difficult.

Shackled was not immobile and he could move well enough to take out more before they subdued or killed him.

The delay before anyone returned was longer than Yusuf had expected. And when they opened the wagon again, two climbed in to grab at the remaining captives one at a time, dragging them to the door and passing them off to a pair of men waiting to take them.

Yusuf was the last, likely because of his part in killing many of them already. The two men grabbed at the chain linking Yusuf’s hands together and they yanked hard enough to pull him off balance into one of them. He adjusted his momentum quickly, kicking off the floor of the wagon to increase how hard he ran into the man, the two of them falling over, his captor’s head slamming harshly against the bars of the wagon and he went limp. The others were already shouting as more moved to climb in.

Yusuf was already moving as well, twisting and kicking his legs out toward the other man already in the wagon and catching him directly in the face with both feet. He then hooked his feet back into the legs of another once they set foot inside the wagon, making him fall back out and into the others. Yusuf rolled off the still unconscious man and slid toward the open door, trusting his ability to fight back more effectively and successfully outside this cage.

He was just about to drop down when he felt hands grip at the collar and yanked him back, arms at once wrapping around his shoulders while the other kept hold of the collar, the metal digging into his throat on the brink of choking as another grabbed at the chain connecting his feet and they started dragging him out despite his struggles. Two more men closed in on both sides to grab his arms and they dragged him into a nearby building. They dragged him as he continued to struggle by a line of cages filled with people, many of them clutched together and some of them crying. He was pulled further back and into another smaller room before he was tossed to the floor.

Before he could recover a solid footing he could fight from, a pair of men pressed him down on his stomach into the floor. One growled something into his ear that he couldn’t understand just before he heard some commotion from his right and then the back of his shirt was roughly yanked up and he couldn’t help but scream as burning metal was pressed against his skin along his spine.

He’d never been so grateful that his body healed all wounds and did not just bring him from death so he didn’t have to endure the rest of his life being branded.

It would still take a few moments for the burn to vanish and he just hoped they threw him in a cage quickly so they didn’t see the brand disappear. There was quite the range of reactions they could have and none of them were pleasant.

His hopes were in vain as he noted the tone in the voices changing as rough hands started pushing at his back where the burn was still healing and Yusuf hissed at the lingering pain.

One of the men holding him down shouted something and Yusuf cried out as the hot metal was again pressed to his back, a little higher and it felt as though the man was leaning his weight onto it, like he was attempting to press the brand through Yusuf’s body to ensure it remained.

When the metal was removed, this time he was aware of the man moving in close, peering at Yusuf’s back as he felt the wound close and disappear.

The ones holding his arms down were distracted, obviously looking as well and Yusuf pulled against their hold, though not enough to gain freedom as he was again pressed down.

The reaction of these men was soon revealed to be grotesque curiosity as they took brand and then blade to his skin over and over again as they tested to see that he healed from everything.

At least they didn’t appear inclined to test if he healed from death, never doing enough damage that he would die swiftly from that single wound.

And their curiosity and rapt attention upon Yusuf was what allowed one to easily catch them by surprise and kill them all before they could raise any sort of defense.

Yusuf let out a sigh of relief at knowing that Nicolo had decided to come for him and offer aid.

Though the expression he wore had never been so similar to what Yusuf had seen when they were still killing one another. He appeared taken with fury as he had seemingly left behind when he left his army. And he used that fury to kill all the men who had taken Yusuf and then he came to Yusuf’s side, helping him remove the shackles.

“I suppose I may start to trust your skills of navigation,” Yusuf jested as he rolled out his neck once the collar dropped.

Nicolo directed an incredulous look at him for a moment before asking, “You are well?”

Yusuf gave a grin as he moved to stand, giving his bloodstained tunic a sour look. Such a waste. “Of course I am well. They have done only slightly more than others have attempted.” Yusuf began looking through the room, hoping there were clothes he could change into.

“’Slightly more’?” Nicolo replied though he seemed to be simply thinking over what was said rather than asking.

Yusuf noted Nicolo’s shoulders stiffen as his eyes fell upon the branding iron. And then when Yusuf found clothes he could take and slipped off the cut and stained tunic he wore, he noted that blue-green eyes checked over him to ensure no injuries remained. Yusuf ensured he turned around so Nicolo could see his back as well and satisfy his concern without needing to ask.

It would not be the first time they showed concern over one another’s injuries healing and was one thing that encouraged Yusuf to believe they may one day become friends.

“Did you allow any remain alive for our way out?” Yusuf asked once he was dressed.

“No, they are all dead and all cages have been opened.”

“You work with haste, as always.”

Nicolo frowned at that. “I arrived shortly after the rising of the moon. It is nearly dawn.”

Then Nicolo had moved quietly and carefully to gain entry. His precision when moving toward a goal could be terrifying even to Yusuf who was certain it would not again be directed toward him as Nicolo had proven to be honorable toward any he considered ally.

Time also became difficult to accurately track when pain was continually inflicted. However, as Nicolo had experienced that as well, Yusuf simply shrugged and gave an inviting wave toward the door.

Nicolo nodded and passed by him, pausing to look around the hallway, ensuring there was no threat to be concerned with and then he led the way out. Nicolo then appeared to question the decision before he went to one of the wagons with horses still tied to them and climbed up.

Yusuf didn’t hesitate and followed. He could already feel the fatigue from being injured and healing so often and for so long and he knew he would be sleeping deeply to recover. He would likely also have a headache until he ate and drank well.

Once they were making steady progress back to where their camp had been, obviously intending to recover what belongings they had accumulated, Yusuf made sure he clearly said, “You have my thanks. I was uncertain if I would see you again.”

Nicolo frowned but did not turn toward him. “I recalled how people in the town a few days ago had been cautioning travelers of slavers taking people from the roads over the past few months.” He paused a moment before asking, “You believed I would leave you?”

“I would not have been upset if you hadn’t found me,” Yusuf replied, ensuring he did not speak in a manner that would imply it was entirely a doubt of Nicolo’s character. “We have been at each other’s side for many years. We have been fortunate in that we haven’t been parted like that before now. And if we truly lost one another with no hint as to where the other would be, we are simply two people in quite a large world. I would not fault you for failing to find me.”

Nicolo remained silent for many moments and Yusuf could feel himself falling to slumber. When Nicolo did break his silence, it was with a sad voice. “We came to this existence together. We have faced much together. I would not stop looking.” Yusuf felt himself smile and was about to reply when Nicolo continued. “The women of our dreams, they are always together. I believe we must be as well.”

The strange dreams they shared had been something they discovered early as they would both awaken at once in similar manners and always on the same nights. The two women neither of them recognized yet one more curiosity of their lives.

“I see. Then you are yet convinced they are real?”

“I am.” Nicolo looked at him then, a quick flash of an expression Yusuf wasn’t accustomed to seeing on his companion’s face as it came out rarely. “As are you. If they are together for all this time, why should we not be? So, if we are parted by any means besides our joint decision, I would not give up finding you.”

Yusuf smiled. “Neither would I.” The silence returned and Yusuf was again falling to sleep when he spoke again. “Though it may be of greater ease to simply identify places for us to meet should it ever occur. You may have found me with ease this time but I still am not convinced you would not get lost attempting to find me.”

Nicolo gave him a flat look but there was a hint to his expression that said he was amused. “Why do you say that?”

“Because you are currently following the sun directly when it should be just to our right now if we were attempting to return to camp.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed.


End file.
